Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: Australian Ship Picks Up Signals Consistent With 'Black Box' Pings

Wall Street Journal ^ | 04/07/2014 | By ROBB M. STEWART in Melbourne and RACHEL PANNETT in Sydney

[SeekAndFind]

The Australian navy picked up extended underwater signals in the search zone for Malaysia Airlines 3786.KU +2.44% Flight 370, in what authorities said Monday was the best lead yet in the hunt for the missing jet's "black box" flight recorders.

The naval ship Ocean Shield—fitted with U.S. Navy black-box detector equipment able to pick up signals far beneath the ocean surface—has been searching an area of the southern Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia for nearly two days. Investigators believe the area is the most likely spot where the plane may have run out of fuel, more than a thousad miles from the nearest airport, after disappearing from civilian radar on March 8.

The first of the signals late at night on Saturday local time was held for more than two hours, retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who is leading the multinational search, said Monday. On a return trip along the same path early Sunday, two distinct "pinger" signals were detected and held for about 13 minutes.

"Significantly this would be consistent with transmission from both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder," Air Chief Marshal Houston said. "Clearly this is a most promising lead and probably in the search so far. The audible signal sounds to me just like an emergency locator beacon."

The potential breakthrough comes despite the failure so far of a multinational team of military aircraft to spot any debris related to Flight 370 on the surface of the ocean in more than two weeks. Instead, investigators have relied on radar, satellite communications and other data to plot where they believe plane likely went down.

[Izzy Dunne]

Jaded was talking about the betteries in the reporters' BRAINS.

I think they expired some time ago.

[Izzy Dunne]

wouldn’t they have yanked out the black box and voice recorder and dumped them somehow

The FDR and CVR (from my understanding) are located in the plane's tail, both to improve crash survivability and to prevent the scenario you describe.

[Scutter]

You and he seem to be under the impression that the FDR has or will lose information because some battery expired. I’m just pointing out that this is not the case. As long as the unit is recovered and wasn’t physically damaged, the data will still be there. Data stored in non-volatile storage isn’t lost when the power goes out. It’s the same principal as when you power off your computer. When you turn it back on, all your files are still there.

[william clark]

Something discussed on Fox News a day or two ago, which I frankly hadn’t thought of, suggests that the recorders will likely not yield the crucial information being sought even if they’re recovered, because of the amount of time captured on them. For instance, the cockpit voice recorder only records two hours’ worth of time before it begins to re-record over itself. Likewise the flight data recorder is limited. Consquently, the information regarding what was happening at the time of the mysterious change in the jet’s direction may no longer exist. It also makes me wonder if that’s why, if simple suicide was the intent, the plane wasn’t just taken down pretty much immediately. For purposes of insurance payouts to family, or even just to create a mystery, the pilot responsible may have extended the flight specifically so that the recorder data, when/if recovered, would be all but worthless.

[Izzy Dunne]

You and he seem to be under the impression that the FDR has or will lose information because some battery expired.

No, I was just pointing out that he was referring to batteries in reporter's BRAINS.

[CincyRichieRich]

Why should we doubt the Chinese?

Maybe because it’s the Australians who made the contact?

---

Smarmy, read the news; the Chicoms also say they heard such pings...and no, it is 1984, therefore, I don’t believe anyone and all foreign governments, including that in the WH have ulterior motives.

[ltc8k6]

The Aussies apparently have two distinct pings near each other and 600kms away from the Chinese spot.

Be a heck of a coincidence if it wasn’t the two black boxes.

The Aussies have proper equipment and documentation. You can see one of their hits here:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-07/defence-has-released-this-picture2c-showing-a-computer-picking/5373330

[Iron Munro]

The naval ship Ocean Shield—fitted with U.S. Navy black-box detector equipment able to pick up signals far beneath the ocean surface

Too bad it can't detect pings from a black box in an aircraft sitting on some out of the way, fly-blown airstrip in Pock-Eee-Stohn or Iran.

[Sigurdrifta]

I have wondered this myself. A friend of mine (former senior 747 pilot for United) told me when I asked that he could think up two reasons: 1) cost, and 2) FAA foot dragging.

I have used transponders in research for decades. They are somewhat more expensive, but they will last for years (we have had them last for 3-4 years, depending on the amount of use.

Also 37.5 kHz (which I believe is the pinger frequency) is fairly short range in the ocean. Normally, frequencies used in deep-ocean work are 12-13 kHz or less.

Of course, there is this question: Is the Malaysian airline paying for the search?/s

[Uncle Chip]

For purposes of insurance payouts to family, or even just to create a mystery, the pilot responsible may have extended the flight specifically so that the recorder data, when/if recovered, would be all but worthless.

Yep --

The one thing the black box should tell however is the speed the plane was flying when it hit the water -- and thus the survivability of the pilot or anyone onboard.

If the BBs are found, then investigators should be able to determine how it went down -- did it run out of fuel and fall, did the pilot crash it, or did the pilot land it in hopes of swimming away from it.

The plane may have been scuttled in one piece at that location where a boat was waiting to pick the pilot up for the start of his new life.

[Georgia Girl 2]

“BS; this is just cover for them to create the scenario that the batteries expired and we can BE ASSURED that it is in the Indian Ocean. Why should we doubt the Chinese?”

Agreed. This is an elaborate campaign of disinformation. The plane is likely not in the Indian Ocean.

[plain talk]

Let’s say they have narrowed it down to a few square miles. I know they have discussed sending down drones. But even if they get right at the plane I am not sure how they retrieve black boxes at such a depth in the event they are not just laying there on the ocean floor.

[Pearls Before Swine]

I believe the Australians have identified the pinger on two scanning runs. They’re hoping for a third contact to triangulate more accurately but I think they’ve got it narrowed down to a three square mile area.

Pings without debris. Sounds a bit odd--you'd think there'd be fragments of seat cushions and carbon fiber floating around a wide area surrounding the pings.

[Sarah Barracuda]

That is what I dont understand and no one has been able to explain. This was obviously done on purpose, the plane skirted Indonesian airspace(and radar) just to end up in the Southern Indian Ocean..why? If a pilot or co-pilot wanted to commit suicide why not just crash the plane in the China Sea, or even if they wanted to crash the plane in the Indian Ocean, why try to cover it up, all the secrecy for what purpose, to off yourself anyway? Here is my theory(Unless they find actual wreckage then my theory goes out the window) is it possible that this plane landed in Diego Garcia for instance, then someone took the black boxes from the plane, took a boat out and dumped it in the Indian Ocean..without actual wreckage this could be a possibility

[Lower Deck]

Pings without debris. Sounds a bit odd--you'd think there'd be fragments of seat cushions and carbon fiber floating around a wide area surrounding the pings.

Not necessarily. If the plane came down intact, nose first, it would leave a comparatively small debris field. Think EgyptAir 900. U.S. units were on the scene the next day and they didn't find a very large debis field. The most noticable evidence was the smell of the jet fuel on the water. Most of the wreck and just about all the remains wound up on the ocean floor. In this case after three weeks what debris and fuel that had been on the surface would have disbursed in the rough waters of the area.

[right way right]

No, but “Pong” is.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Been done. Took forever, but finally got the Air France recorders.

[the OlLine Rebel]

You forgot cost per benefit.

Almost never does this scenario happen where no one knows the location of the crash within days. The 30-day minimum is in itself a fudge factor. I’d put money down you can’t find a single other crash that wasn’t found within the requirement period.

So, why waste money on a scenario that has a .1% chance of happening? (This conservative site should understand that, as we are supposed to oppose the “if it saves just one life!” safety-NAZI drivel.)

[Capt. Tom]

If a pilot or co-pilot wanted to commit suicide why not just crash the plane in the China Sea, or even if they wanted to crash the plane in the Indian Ocean, why try to cover it up, all the secrecy for what purpose, to off yourself anyway?

A suicidal person may not want a surviving family member or loved ones to live with the stigma of a person who took down over 200 innocent people with him.
If the suicide can not be proven, and the possibility of that something else happened, the family survivors are better off.
Suicide decisions are not always a spur of the moment thing, and can be planned months in advance.-Tom

[Principled]

thanks I didn’t know if them being able to do all that technical stuff wrt transponders etc would be indicative of a similar technical expertise to dump the box and the recorder...